DUBLIN, Ohio — Phil Mickelson hasn’t won a tournament since the 2013 British Open. But his results since then, for the most part, have been pretty positive. He has been in contention numerous times, but has not been able to cross the line.

That was accentuated by his near miss at last year’s British Open at Troon, where he narrowly was beaten by a spectacular performance from Henrik Stenson.

Mickelson’s 2-under 70 in Thursday’s opening round of the Memorial at Jack Nicklaus’ Muirfield Village Golf club has him in contention again and has his hunger spiked, because of where this event is being played.

Mickelson said a win this week “would mean a lot more for me than any other regular tournament.’’

“First of all, it’s Jack’s tournament, and second, I’ve not ever won here,’’ he said. “I played here in 1986 in the U.S. Junior, and I’ve always had an affinity for this golf course. It was always a special place to me. I fell in love with it when I was a junior. I fell in love with it growing up as a kid.

“It had to be Jack’s place. I had never seen a golf course this pristine, this green, this lush, this much water and cool holes. It was my first exposure to a golf course like this. I was 16, lost in the quarterfinals on the last hole. So I’ve always had kind of an affinity for the golf course. Played in tournaments here, but haven’t played well enough to win.’’

William McGirt changed his life at this golf tournament a year ago, making the Memorial his first career PGA Tour victory.

That earned him a marquee grouping for the opening round as the defending champion, playing with Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, the No. 1 ranked player in the world. McGirt matched Mickelson’s 2-under, and Johnson struggled with a 6-over 78.

“It was pretty neat,’’ McGirt said. “Playing with those two guys, they were kind of the main attraction. I did hear several times, ‘Who’s that? Who’s that? That’s the defending champion.’ It was kind of neat. It was like coming right back in and being completely comfortable, especially that first nine holes. It was kind of falling right back into where I was last year. I’m very comfortable here.’’

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A familiar face found himself at the top of the leaderboard after the opening round: David Lingmerth, the 2015 Memorial winner. He shot a 7-under 65 that was marred only by a bogey on 18.

“Obviously, having won here it brings back good memories,’’ Lingmerth said. “And the other years I’ve played here, I’ve always loved it. I’ve always felt good about this place. I feel confident out here. I roll the ball really well on the greens — I have every year I’ve been here.’’

Like McGirt, Lingmerth’s win at the Memorial was the first PGA Tour victory of his career.

“Anyone who plays on the PGA Tour and hasn’t yet won, they probably believe in their head that they can win, but just getting that black on white and I can win out here, that’s a huge, huge thing,’’ he said. “So having gotten that out of the way, I feel just tremendous. Obviously I haven’t been able to win again since, but I know for sure that I have the capability to win and that means a lot.’’